Howdy everyone! Been awhile since we’ve posted an update. Got lots of projects in the works, don’t you worry!
In the meantime though I’d like to present a new podcast for you all by the man known as Luis Calderon!

Space Boy Studios Podcast – PILOT EPISODE

If you like his podcast give it a like and a subscribe, and if you have any suggestions or criticisms to help him improve be sure to leave them in the comments!

Are you an artist that struggles to get things done? Or wanting to learn new ways to get MORE done?

Being an artist, especially a successful one can be quite difficult. More often than not the problems us artists face aren’t our art skills, but our time management skills.

Time management isn’t something that most of us are taught and we’re stuck having to figure it out ourselves once we become adults. But with all the other responsibilities that get dropped in our laps it can be very hard to know how to manage it all.

With this course we hope to teach you different techniques, methods, and ways of thinking that will help you to get control of your time.

Here’s some things that you will get in this course:

Learn how and why to write down your goals

How to break down tasks and prioritize them!

Learn methods for better focus!

Build a better productive mindset and think like a winner!

Full access to ask Jake any questions you have through the Udemy platform

AND MORE

You will get full life-time access to this course and all updates made to it!

And to put your mind at ease if you aren’t sure if this is the course for you, Udemy offers a full 30-day money back guarantee. So if you watch through part or even the full course and find that it in no way helps you, you can get a complete refund within the first 30 days!

We hope to see you inside the course!

What are the requirements?

Have a pen or pencil and paper to write down their goal.

Have something to take notes with.

A timer: Either an egg timer, a phone app, or any timer they would like to use.

What am I going to get from this course?

Create goals and figure out the steps to reach them.

Prioritize tasks in a manner as to get the most value out of their time.

Break down big tasks into smaller measurable steps.

Have a more success-driven mindset.

Set deadlines and meet them on time.

Increase their focus and productivity.

What is the target audience?

This course is for artists that want to learn ways to be able to get more work done.

Productivity for Artists: Set Goals and Get Motivated!

We’re still putting up some more of the videos through out the week on Youtube but you can view all the free videos on Udemy right now.

Are you an artist that struggles to get things done? Or wanting to learn new ways to get MORE done?

Being an artist, especially a successful one can be quite difficult. More often than not the problems us artists face aren’t our art skills, but our time management skills.

Time management isn’t something that most of us are taught and we’re stuck having to figure it out ourselves once we become adults. But with all the other responsibilities that get dropped in our laps it can be very hard to know how to manage it all.

With this course we hope to teach you different techniques, methods, and ways of thinking that will help you to get control of your time.

Here’s some things that you will get in this course:

Learn how and why to write down your goals

How to break down tasks and prioritize them!

Learn methods for better focus!

Build a better productive mindset and think like a winner!

Full access to ask Jake any questions you have through the Udemy platform

AND MORE

You will get full life-time access to this course and all updates made to it!

And to put your mind at ease if you aren’t sure if this is the course for you, Udemy offers a full 30-day money back guarantee. So if you watch through part or even the full course and find that it in no way helps you, you can get a complete refund within the first 30 days!

We hope to see you inside the course!

What are the requirements?

Have a pen or pencil and paper to write down their goal.

Have something to take notes with.

A timer: Either an egg timer, a phone app, or any timer they would like to use.

What am I going to get from this course?

Create goals and figure out the steps to reach them.

Prioritize tasks in a manner as to get the most value out of their time.

Break down big tasks into smaller measurable steps.

Have a more success-driven mindset.

Set deadlines and meet them on time.

Increase their focus and productivity.

What is the target audience?

This course is for artists that want to learn ways to be able to get more work done.

Productivity for Artists: Set Goals and Get Motivated!

We’re still putting up some more of the videos through out the week on Youtube but you can view all the free videos on Udemy right now.

Are you an artist that struggles to get things done? Or wanting to learn new ways to get MORE done?

Being an artist, especially a successful one can be quite difficult. More often than not the problems us artists face aren’t our art skills, but our time management skills.

Time management isn’t something that most of us are taught and we’re stuck having to figure it out ourselves once we become adults. But with all the other responsibilities that get dropped in our laps it can be very hard to know how to manage it all.

With this course we hope to teach you different techniques, methods, and ways of thinking that will help you to get control of your time.

Here’s some things that you will get in this course:

Learn how and why to write down your goals

How to break down tasks and prioritize them!

Learn methods for better focus!

Build a better productive mindset and think like a winner!

Full access to ask Jake any questions you have through the Udemy platform

AND MORE

You will get full life-time access to this course and all updates made to it!

And to put your mind at ease if you aren’t sure if this is the course for you, Udemy offers a full 30-day money back guarantee. So if you watch through part or even the full course and find that it in no way helps you, you can get a complete refund within the first 30 days!

We hope to see you inside the course!

What are the requirements?

Have a pen or pencil and paper to write down their goal.

Have something to take notes with.

A timer: Either an egg timer, a phone app, or any timer they would like to use.

What am I going to get from this course?

Create goals and figure out the steps to reach them.

Prioritize tasks in a manner as to get the most value out of their time.

Break down big tasks into smaller measurable steps.

Have a more success-driven mindset.

Set deadlines and meet them on time.

Increase their focus and productivity.

What is the target audience?

This course is for artists that want to learn ways to be able to get more work done.

Productivity for Artists: Set Goals and Get Motivated!

Here’s the first video of the course we’re putting up for free. We’re going to be putting up some more of the videos through out the week on Youtube but you can view all the free videos on Udemy right now.

Are you an artist that struggles to get things done? Or wanting to learn new ways to get MORE done?

Being an artist, especially a successful one can be quite difficult. More often than not the problems us artists face aren’t our art skills, but our time management skills.

Time management isn’t something that most of us are taught and we’re stuck having to figure it out ourselves once we become adults. But with all the other responsibilities that get dropped in our laps it can be very hard to know how to manage it all.

With this course we hope to teach you different techniques, methods, and ways of thinking that will help you to get control of your time.

Here’s some things that you will get in this course:

Learn how and why to write down your goals

How to break down tasks and prioritize them!

Learn methods for better focus!

Build a better productive mindset and think like a winner!

Full access to ask Jake any questions you have through the Udemy platform

AND MORE

You will get full life-time access to this course and all updates made to it!

And to put your mind at ease if you aren’t sure if this is the course for you, Udemy offers a full 30-day money back guarantee. So if you watch through part or even the full course and find that it in no way helps you, you can get a complete refund within the first 30 days!

We hope to see you inside the course!

What are the requirements?

Have a pen or pencil and paper to write down their goal.

Have something to take notes with.

A timer: Either an egg timer, a phone app, or any timer they would like to use.

What am I going to get from this course?

Create goals and figure out the steps to reach them.

Prioritize tasks in a manner as to get the most value out of their time.

Break down big tasks into smaller measurable steps.

Have a more success-driven mindset.

Set deadlines and meet them on time.

Increase their focus and productivity.

What is the target audience?

This course is for artists that want to learn ways to be able to get more work done.

He’s a Thang from the 80’s that just won’t back down! Residing in the city of Miami, he arrives in the nick of time to rescue teenagers when they’re in the grasp of danger. From the usual prom date mishaps that pimple faced kids have to predators lurking around each and EVERY CORNER, no teen has to live in fear ever again.

Unless you’re not in between the ages of 13 and 17 that is.

Apply your hairspray, put on your denim clothes, and get ready for the best decade that has ever EXISTED.

Just remember kids… if the Swamp Thang saves your ass, YOU OWE HIM ONE.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn | Motivational Speaker

The Average of Hamburger Cat

I want you to think about this quote. Who are the five people you spend the most time with? And more importantly…

Are you the average of those five?

Why This Is Important

I personally agree with this quote and I find that it’s something that most people don’t ever take into consideration.

We become like those around us. Be it family, friends, etc. We pick up things from them that you might have noticed such as mannerisms and slang, but it goes much further than that.

With that in mind, think of what type of person you want to be.

Do you want to be rich? Fit? Hard working? Disciplined?

Whatever it is you want to be, are the people you spend the most time with those things?

If you want to be hard working and disciplined for example and aren’t, are the people you’re around also not those things?

This can be a very difficult thing. We like our friends and families (usually). We spend so much time with these people but sometimes if we want to change, we have to stop spending so much time with them.

It’s no coincidence that successful talented people are surrounded by other successful talented people!

For example, if you wanted to go the gym every day, wouldn’t it be easier if you were friends with people who went to the gym every day?

If the people you currently spend most of your time with aren’t the right people for who you want to be, you’ll have to find new people.

Find New People If You Have Too

Everyone’s circumstances are different so I can’t tell you exactly how to find these new people, but I will tell you ways that I found some.

Online – Probably the most obvious one. For me some of the friends I’ve had the longest I met online. Through making art and flash animations back in the day I found other people that were doing the same thing and formed friendships with them that have lasted for more than a decade.

Conventions – You could probably do this by going and walking around at a convention. However, I did it by actually having a table at comic conventions. Something about being behind the table selling your work changes peoples perception of you. You come across as another professional that is motivated and hard working. I’d recommend having something to sell be it prints, commissions, or whatever it is that you do. But starting out don’t be too concerned with it being about making money, but making connections. Share your table with a friend or family that can watch it for you so you can go look around a little bit. Strike up conversations with people that also have tables that work interests you. They’ll see your exhibitor badge. If you make a good impression, maybe they’ll ask where your table is and they’ll come by. A lot of pros don’t get tables though and just attend to look around and visit friends. But if your work is good they might end up coming and talking to you! I’ve made quite a few close friends this way.

College – If you go to college or art school, there’s going to be at least a few people who want to do the same things as you. You just have to find the ones that are going to make you better by being with them. I got very lucky and made a lot of talented hard working friends in the short time that I attended.

Randomly – Some times you just find the right people in weird places. My brother wanted me to play a game called League of Legends with him. Back when the game was more relaxed and you could really just do whatever you wanted, I met a guy while playing. Turned out he was a talent manager for musicians that used to own his own studio that made films. One of the smartest and coolest people I’ve met. He gave me a lot of advice while starting out and even got me work a few times, and I never would have met him if it wasn’t for that awful game!

Making Real Friends Is Hard

I know having to find new friends to replace old ones sounds awful.

It isn’t easy to find new ones.

It isn’t easy to spend less time with current ones.

Feelings could get hurt. But it’s wrong to allow friends to be lobsters that drag you down to their level with their big meaty claws.

Friends can come and go, it’s important that you focus on YOU. Because people that are your friend now might not be later. And then you’re left with you.

Find the right friends. Friends that are what you want to be. By spending time with them, you’ll increase your average.

Put it up on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Deviant Art, or any other sites that you enjoy.

Don’t think your work is good enough yet?

PHOOEY.

Share it!

Reasons Why You Should Share Your Art

It Shows Skill Progression – Not only to yourself, but to others. They can see how your art developed and at the rate you’re improving.

It Shows Work Ethic – You might have the best work ethic in the world, but if you rarely share your art it gives the appearance of a poor work ethic. However, if you share several new pieces a week or even daily it communicates how hard working you are.

You Can Get Feedback – You can get critiques on your work (solicited and unsolicited lol) to help you improve as well as see if anything you create gets a lot of positive or negative feedback. Plus you never know, maybe something you create will go viral!

You Can Connect With Other Artists – It’s interesting to look at who follows or likes your work, and for whatever reason it’s extra flattering when that person is another artist! Sometimes they just like a single piece, but other times they love your work and it can lead to meeting new friends or creating new professional relationships.

and most importantly:

5. You Build Your Audience

This is a big reason to share your work. When one first starts putting their stuff online it almost always collects dust at first. No one really sees it or comments or anything.

Pretty discouraging…

But the sooner you share your work, and more frequently you do the better. Eventually, people DO start to see what you’re making and that’s why you want a good amount of work already posted that they can then go back and look through.

If you only have a few pieces, they don’t usually stick around. They see the two or three drawings and in under a minute they’re gone. But if they like your work they’ll stay and look at more and the longer they stick around the more likely they’ll follow you or find a piece that they LOVE.

That’s when you’ve made a fan.

Fans can make the process of creating art far more encouraging. Sometimes they’ll comment or share your stuff. Feels GOOD.

And when they share, they find you more fans!

That’s part of how you eventually reach a tipping point and if you so desire, can start to take the steps of turning art into a career!

That Being Said…

My last bit of advice regarding this is that, personally I don’t like to bother with sites like Deviant Art or anywhere putting work up is overly tedious. I also find that with sites like Deviant Art that it’s hard to get much traction.

I really enjoy Instagram however as you can link a lot of your other accounts to it and post to them all at once.

However, the number of views your work receives isn’t what matters in the end. It’s WHO see’s your work. A hundred people that see it and scroll past aren’t as important as five people who stick around. Ten thousand views might not be worth as much as the one view from an art director that ends up changing your life forever.

So just because I personally do not enjoy putting up work on sites like Deviant Art there still is value in doing so if you are so inclined to do it.

Reference Will Make Your Drawings More Accurate

“Drawing Hamburger Cat is hard.” – Vince

Even if you have a good understanding of how to draw something, it doesn’t hurt to find a reference. Sometimes the difference in making something believable in a drawing are the very subtle details that are forgotten without the use of reference.

So if you’re drawing cars, clothes with lots of folds, airplanes, a cityscape, etc. It’s a good idea to grab some references just to give it that extra bit of accuracy.

The More You Use, The Less You Need Later

When you gather reference and draw from it, you become more familiar with whatever you’re drawing. In a way you’re very much building up a catalog in your mind of how things look that you can pull upon later. Eventually when you go to draw things like rooms, you’ll have several different chairs designs already in your head. Different beds, lamps, dressers, the list goes on and on. This also applies for hairstyles, clothes, shoes, you name it.

This of course doesn’t mean you’ll stop using references, but the more of it you use nowthe less you’ll need later.

Using References Isn’t Cheating

I shouldn’t have to point this out, but I’ve heard a lot of beginning artists say this. “Using reference is cheating.” It’s not. Using reference is like using any other tool to get better results. If someone wanted to build houses they wouldn’t say that using a hammer was cheating! It’s not cheating.

They have this idea that to be a legitimate artist you have to be able to come up with everything from your mind. Also don’t think that you’re supposed to strictly copy the references either, it’s to help draw something better. For example, for a complicated pose you might need different references for different parts of the pose.

All professional artists use reference.

Start Collecting Reference

A long time ago artists would clip out drawings from magazines, make xeroxes from books, take photographs, etc. and file them away into filing cabinets filled with labeled folders of their references.

Nowadays you have the luxury of just using google and finding tons of reference at a moments notice!

But I would recommend that you do start your own folders of reference to use on your computer.

Whenever you see clothes, or a room, or a hair-do, or anything that you really like. Save that picture into an appropriate reference folder so that you can view it later when you need it.

This can go for any tutorials or such that you find as well!

Software You Can Use

Here are some free programs that you can use to display and arrange references while you work!